I agree with Steve. I still have a "dumb" phone and don't plan on a smartphone because of the expense of them per month. (As much as I use a cell phone I save hundreds of dollars a year using a pay-as-you-go plan vs. a contract.) I have no problem with others choosing to use other technologies for operating their trains. I'm perfectly content with DCC...and it will only get better over time.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with using "handheld" devices (I assume you mean "wired", because tablets, smart phones, etc are, well, "handheld".)
But this is a hobby. It's supposed to be fun, and different folks have different ideas about how to have fun.
In my case, I'll probably never use at least a couple of the technologies you mention on my layout.
But some folks may want to, and that's okay. It's actually a good thing, because it fosters innovation in the hobby.
I am really getting tired of reading about smart phones, tablets, Blue Tooth, WiFi and dead rail. What's wrong with a handheld DCC throttle or a DC power pack to run trains?
Like a lot of others, as Troy Aikman so famously says in that TV commercial, "I dwell in the past".
For my layout era, the mid-50s, none of this modern stuff even existed. I don't even own a smart phone or a tablet. Yeah, I've got a laptop but that's where it belongs, on my lap or on the top of my desk.
So, once again, I ask, what's wrong with a handheld DCC throttle or a DC power pack to run trains?
Rich
Alton Junction